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HISTORIC 
CAMBRIDGE COMMON 



By 
Charles C. Farrington 



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Bedford, Massachusetts 
1918 



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Copyright, 1918 
Bv CHARLES C. FARRINGTON 



The Bedford Print Shop, Bedford, Mass. 



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FOREWORD 

History is repeating itself in Cam- 
bridge in 1918. Its famous Common 
has once more become a war camp. 

The United States Government 
has taken possession of the Common 
for the period of the war, or such 
time as its use is necessary, and here 
is located a part of the Radio School, 
now being conducted at Cambridge 
by the Navy Department. 

Known world-wide as the place 
where the first American army was 
organized, and trained under General 
Washington, in 1775, to fight for 
American liberty, it is most fitting that 
the same site should be used to play a 
part in the great war now being 
waged for the liberty and freedom of 
the world. 

No plot of public ground in the 
Country is more historic, and probably 

3 



Fore word 

no other, with the exception of Boston 
Common, has been for so long a time 
devoted continuously to public uses. 
It certainly has no other rival in the 
associations w^hich connect it insepar- 
ably with the early and most vital 
periods in our National history, and its 
occupation now as a part of the exten- 
sive training- system of the present war 
will add still another link in the chain 
of events that has already given it re- 
nown. 



IN EARLY TIMES 



From the earliest days of the Massa- 
chusetts Bay Colony g^reat importance 
was attached to military training- and 
up to the year 1681 it was compul- 
sory for all able-bodied men over six- 
teen years of age. In making their 
plans of the "New Towne"^ the pioneer 
settlers of Cambridge reserved a large 
tract of land for "town commons," 
primarily, however, as a training-field 
for the militia. 

It is to that wisely-made provision, 
then, that the Cambridge of today is 
indebted for its beautiful Common 
with its long train of cherished mem- 
ories spanning nearly three centuries ; 
a spot in which all Cambridge takes a 
just pride and one that is reverenced 
b}^ the thousands of tourists who every 

1. Newtowne was settled in 1631. The 
name was changed to Cambridge in 1636. 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

year come to visit the historic shrines 
of Boston and vicinity. 

The Common as it stands today, con 
taining about ten acres, is but a part 
of the original tract which extended 
as far north as Linnaean Street, em- 
bracing^ the land between Massachu- 
setts Avenue and Garden Street^; and 
to the south, taking in the open space 
now known as Harvard Square. 

The northern, and much the largei 
part, was fenced in for the safe pas- 
turage of cows, it being necessary to 
protect them at night against the 
depredations of Indians and the incur- 
sion of wild animals. This portion was 
known as the **Cow Common." At the 
extreme upper end was the "gallows 
lot," — an acre or so of rising ground 
which was separated from the rest of 
the enclosure. Here was located the 

1. Until the later part of the eisrht'^enth 
century Garden street was known as Wash- 
ington street from the associations con- 
nected with the now famous Washing-ton 
Elm. 

6 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

g"allows and on this spot executions 
took place publicly for many years. 

In 1724 the "Cow Common" was di- 
vided into lots and sold to individuals, 
the part remaining — that below the 
line of Waterhouse Street — being left 
as it was originally. The Common 
thus reduced in size was held as the 
property of the Proprietors of Com- 
mon Lands until 1769, when it was 
granted to the town of Cambridge, 
with the provision that it lie undivided 
for use as a training field, and remain 
so forever. It served as a general 
meeting place for the town's people on 
occasions of public celebration or fes- 
tivity, and not the least important of 
all, for political gatherings. 

"Training days," as they were first 
called, and in later times "muster 
days," were features of life in the 
Colony for more than a century and 
might be called the first New England 
holidays, for such they were. Elec- 

. 7 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

tion day was in reality another holi- 
day and many local customs were ob- 
served. An "election sermon" was 
preached and "election cake" had its 
place on the day's bill-of-fare. Com- 
mencement day was also observed gen- 
erally throughout the Colony, but to 
Cambridge, people flocked from all 
parts of the State to participate in the 
festivities of this, the great gala day 
in the College year. The Common was 
the principal scene of activities on all 
of these recurring events, and great 
crowds were always in attendance. 

Commencement day, coming in mid- 
summer, was perhaps the crowning 
festival of the year. The Common was 
then covered over with booths and 
tents from which refreshments were 
served and wherein sideshows and 
various forms of entertainment were 
given. The Governor was always 
present on these occasions and the 
bright uniforms worn by his military 

8 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

escort served to enhance the already 
picturesque scene. 

The Common was the rendezvous of 
the Middlesex yeomanry in times of 
public emergencv and here civic af- 
fairs were discussed and debated. 
x\fter the English custom the early 
elections in the Colony were held out- 
of-doors and there were times on elec- 
tion days when stirring scenes were 
enacted on the Common. One of the 
most memorable of these occasions 
was in 1637 when the youthful gov- 
ernor, Sir Henry Vane, a strong sup- 
porter of the religious views ex- 
pounded by the famous Anne Hutch- 
inson, was being opposed by Ex-Gov- 
ernor John Winthrop. Such excite- 
ment prevailed that violence was 
feared, the contest resulting in Vane's 
defeat. 

The elections were held under an 
oak tree which stood on the easterly 
side of the Common. 

9 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

In 1740, the celebrated English 
clergyman, Rev. George Whitefield, 
visited Cambridge, and being refused 
the use of the meeting house, preached 
in the open air on the Common. The 
evangelist gathered his audiences un- 
der a large elm tree in the northwest- 
ern part of the field and the crowds 
which heard him preach were esti- 
mated at thousands. The tree was af- 
terward known as the "Whitefield tree." 

On September 2, 1774, the Common 
was the scene of one of the many 
stirring events which preceded the 
Revolution. The day previous, a de- 
tachment sent out by General Gage 
had seized 250 half-barrels of powder 
stored in the magazine at Charles- 
town (now known as the Old Powder 
House, in Somerville) and had also re- 
moved two field pieces from Cam- 
bridge. These acts aroused great in- 
dignation and two thousand Middlesex 
freeholders collected on the Common 

10 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

to discuss their ^g^rievances. Excite- 
ment ran high and the resignations of 
three councillors — Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor Oliver, and Judges Danforth 
and Lee, residents of Cambridge — 
were demanded. The determined at- 
titude of the assemblage was not to 
be misunderstood and all three 
deemed it wise to comply with the 
request. 



11 



IN 1775-1776 

It is in the Cambridge, and there- 
fore the Common, at the time of the 
Revolution, rather than in the earher 
years, in which there is manifested a 
more general interest, as the events 
occurring in that period are a part of 
our National history in which all citi- 
zens of the country share alike. 

In 1775, Cambridge was a town of 
about sixteen hundred inhabitants. 
Harvard Square and vicinity, known as 
"Cambridge Village," was the resi- 
dential centre. There were two routes 
to Boston — one by the way of Wood 
Street (Boylston) and the "Great 
Bridge," through Brighton, Brook- 
line and Roxbury, a distance of eight 
miles ; the other, by way of the 
Watertown Road to Charlestown, con- 
necting with the ferry. The Concord 
Road, or turnpike, (Massachusetts 

12 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

Avenue) ran northward from the vil- 
lage, crossing- at the lower part of the 
Common, the Watertown Road. The 
latter road crossed what is now Gar- 
don Street near the Washington Elm 
and continued by way of the present 
Mason and Brattle Streets. 

In the neighborhood of Harvard 
Square and the Common were many 
fine estates not a few of which were 
owned by wealthy loyalists, who, 
early in 1775, abandoned their luxuri- 
ous homes and left with their families 
for more congenial localities. Most 
of these refugees were later banished 
by the Legislature and never returned 
to Cambridge. The commodious man- 
sions thus left vacant were confis- 
cated and made use of for hospitals, 
the quartering of troops and various 
other army purposes. Brattle Street, 
where a number of these estates were 
situated, was known in pre-revolu- 
tionary days as "Tory Row." 
13 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

The Common in 1775 was practi- 
cally the same in extent as it is today. 
The turnpike formed the eastern 
boundary on which bordered the Col- 
lege yard, and on the southern side, 
across Garden Street, was the ancient 
burying ground, Christ Church and the 
schoolhouse. What is now Water- 
house Street formed the northern, and 
the Concord Road, the northeastern 
boundary. On Waterhouse Street was 
the residence of William Vassall^ and 
beyond this, at the corner of the Con- 
cord Road, stood the Red Lion Inn. 
East of the Concord Road, about mid- 
way of the Common, on what is now 
called Holmes Place, were four 
houses, one of which, in 1775, was 
owned and occupied by Jonathan Hast- 



1. Vassall left with his family for Eng- 
land in 1775 and did not return. The house 
was boug-ht after the Revolution by Dr. Ben- 
jamin Waterhouse, who is noted as having 
introduced the use of kine pox for vaccina- 
tion into America. 

14 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

ing"s, Jr., for many years steward of 
Harvard College.^ 

There were four Halls within the 
Colleg-e yard : Massachusetts, Har- 
vard, Hollis and Stoughton (the first 
of that name) also the president's 
residence — "Wadsworth House " and 
Holden Chapel. A little to the west 
of the president's house, facing the 
turnpike, was the First Parish meet- 
ing-house, and across the turnpike 
stood the new Court House. 

After the breaking out of hostili- 
ties at Lexington and Concord on the 
nineteenth of April, Cambridge at 
once became the centre of actual 
and active preparations for war. 
The Provincial Congress had already 
met here on two different occasions 
and transacted important business. 

1. This house became later the home of 
Rev. Abiel Holmes, pastor of the First 
Church, and here his son, Oliver Wendell 
Holmes, the poet, was born. It was torn 
down in 1883 when the new law school, Aus- 
tin Hall, was built. 

15 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

At its first session (October, 1774) a 
Committee of Safety and Supplies 
was chosen. This committee estab- 
Hshed its headquarters in the house 
of Jonathan Hasting-s, opposite the 
Common, and to it was entrusted the 
task of raising- an army and the col- 
lecting- of military stores. General 
Artemas Ward, who was then in com- 
mand, took up quarters, also, in the 
Hasting-s house. 

Immediately following- the events 
of April 19 began the sieg-e of Boston. 
A call for volunteers, issued by the 
Committee of Safety, was sent out all 
through New England, and men were 
now hastening toward Cambridge 
from every direction. They left their 
fields, their herds and flocks, and tak- 
ing with them only such weapons as 
they possessed, they answered the 
first call to arms in the Revolution, 
eager to enlist in the cause of liberty. 
Within a week upwards of 8,000 men 

16 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

had responded. On Cambridge Com- 
mon were pitched the camps of this 
first American Army. 

Dorothy Dudley, an eye-witness to 
what transpired in Cambridge during 
this history-making period, has given 
some vivid descriptions as recorded 
in her diary .^ April 21 she writes: 
"Our little town is the seat of war. 
An army is gathering in our midst. 
Volunteers come from all quarters, 
many with nothing but the clothes on 
their backs, no money, no provisions. 
The Common is the rendezvous for 
the military, and a busy scene it is, 
with its groups of excited minutemen 
and thousand signs of warlike prepa- 
rations." A few days later she 
writes : "There is great want of pow- 
der, muskets and other necessaries. 
All possible efforts are being made to 
supply the needs of clothing, tents 
and firearms." 

1. "The Cambridge of 1776." 

17 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

It was impossible to accommodate 
in camps the great number of men 
who had now arrived in Cambridge 
and quarters had to be provided for 
them wherever they could be ob- 
tained. It was necessary to take 
possession of the College buildings 
and convert them into barracks. 
Christ Church was used for a similar 
purpose, while many of the troops 
were quartered in the unoccupied 
houses of the loyalists who had left 
the town. 

On the fifteenth of June the Con- 
tinental Congress at Philadelphia 
chose George Washington of Virginia 
as Commander-in-Chief of the united 
armies of the Colonies and he was 
soon on his way to Cambridge. The 
president's house, in the College yard, 
had been designated by the Provincial 
Congress as the quarters of the new 
Commander and was being prepared 
for his reception. 

18 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

On the night of the sixteenth of 
June there went forth from Cam- 
bridge Common a detachment of 1,000 
troops, commanded by Colonel Pres- 
cott, to fortify Bunker Hill, where it 
was expected that an attack by the 
British might be made. Before leav- 
ing, they were drawn up opposite the 
Hastings house, from the steps of 
which prayer was offered by Rev. Dr. 
Langdon, president of Harvard Col- 
lege. The troops were provided with 
intrenching tools and at about nine 
o'clock began their march, silently, 
toward their destination. The follow- 
ing day occurred the memorable bat- 
tle of Bunker Hill. 

On the second of July General 
Washington arrived in Cambridge. 
He was met at Watertown by a cav- 
alcade of citizens and a troop of 
light horse, and escorted into town, 
where he received an enthusiastic 
welcome. The quarters assigned to 

19 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

him not being in readiness that day 
he repaired to the Hastings house. 

The day following his arrival Wash- 
ington assumed command of the 
army, on the Common, in the presence 
not only of the troops, but thousands 
of spectators, who had gathered to 
witness the inspiring sight. General 
Ward, at the head of the troops, read 
the commission of the new com- 
mander. Washington, who was 
mounted, rode forward a few paces, 
drew his sword, accepted the office 
to which Congress had appointed 
him and thereby took command of 
the army. 

Dorothy Dudley writes under date 
of July 3 : "General Washington is 
here. Today he took command under 
one of the grand old elms on the 
Common. It was a magnificent sight. 
The majestic figure of the General, 
mounted upon his horse, beneath the 
wide spreading branches of this pa- 

20 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

triarch tree ; the multitude thronging 
the plain around, while the air rung 
with shouts as he drew his sword and 
declared himself Commander-in-Chief 
of the Continental Army." 

The quarters which had been pro- 
vided for General Washington did 
not prove altogether satisfactory and 
after only a few days' occupancy he 
took possession of the house of John 
Vassall^, where he resided during his 
stay in Cambridge. 

From now on the Common was the 
scene of the greatest activity. Every 
efifort was put forth to provide the 
necessary equipments, and the task 
of organization of the army was be- 
gun. There was daily drilling and 
columns of men were constantly 
marching about to the music of fife 
and drum. Washington, immediately 
upon assuming charge, inspected the 

1. Afterward the home of the poet. Henry 
W. Long-fellow. The house is still standing 
on Brattle Street. 

21 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

camp, to acquaint himself with its 
needs, and within a week made his 
first report to Congress. Rev. Wil- 
Ham Emerson, a chaplain, gives a 
graphic description of the camp at 
this time. 

He says : "There is great overturn- 
ing as to order and regularity. The 
Generals, Washington and Lee, are 
upon the lines every day. New or- 
ders from His Excellency are read to 
the regiments every morning after 
prayers. The strictest government 
is taking place, and every distinction 
is made between officers and men. 
Thousands are at work every day 
from four until eleven o'clock in the 
morning. It is surprising how much 
has been done. The lines are ex- 
tended almost from Cambridge to 
Mystic river. It is very diverting to 
walk among the camps. They are as 
different in their form as the owners 
are in their dress; and every tent is 

22 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

a portraiture of the temper and taste 
of the persons who encamp in it. 
Some are of boards, and some of sail- 
cloth. Some partly of one and partly 
of the other. Ag-ain, others are made 
of stone and turf, brick or brush. 
Some are thrown up in a hurry, 
others are curiously wrought with 
doors and windows, done with 
wreaths and withes in the manner of 
a basket. Some are your proper tents 
and marquees, looking like the regu- 
lar camp of the enemy." Thatcher's 
Military Journal describes General 
Washing-ton's personal appearance as 
follows : "It is not difficult to distin- 
guish him from all others. His ap- 
pearance is truly noble and majestic, 
being- tall and well proportioned. 
His dress is a blue coat with buflf- 
colored facing-s ; a rich epaulette on 
each shoulder ; buff under-dress, and 
an elegant small-sword ; a black cock- 
ade in his hat." 

23 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

During- the autumn the camp was 
prepared as far as possible against 
the approaching winter. A barracks 
building was erected at the north- 
western part of the Common, but it 
was not ready for use until after 
snow had fallen, early in December. 
The winter was a severe one and 
great hardships were endured by the 
soldiers in their various quarters. 
The supply of firewood was so re- 
duced that groves of valuable timber 
in the vicinity had to be cut down for 
fuel. Ammunition was so scarce that 
everything that could be found which 
could be molded into bullets was 
used. The organ pipes from Christ 
Church, the leaden roof of Harvard 
Hall, door knobs and other metal fit- 
tings of the College buildings, found 
their way into the melting pot. 

The early spring of 1776 brought 
relief in more ways than one. The 
hardships of winter were ended and 
24 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

ammunition had now become more 
plentiful. Signs pointed to an early 
evacuation of Boston by the British, 
and General Washington was prepar- 
ing to hasten their departure. 

The winter had been equally as hard 
for the troops penned up in Boston, 
as it was for those in the American 
camps which surrounded it, and all 
their supplies were at a very low ebb. 
The fortifying of Dorchester Heights 
by Washington proved to General 
Howe the impossibility of longer hold- 
ing the town, and on the seventeenth 
of March he sailed with his troops 
for Halifax. 

There was great rejoicing when the 
siege of Boston was raised, and espe- 
cially, when on the day following the 
evacuation, Washington with his vic- 
torious army entered the town. 
Soon afterward the troops left Cam- 
bridge for New York, and the Com- 
mon ceased to be a military camp. 

25 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

In October, 1777, the captured sol- 
diers of Burg-oyne's army were 
brought to Cambridge and quartered 
there in various houses for more than 
a year. The Common did not play a 
part in this chapter of the town's 
military history except, perhaps, that 
it was used by the soldier-prisoners 
as a place for exercise and recreation. 

In 1789, when he was President of 
the United States, Washington made 
his last tour through New Eng-land 
and visited Cambridge Common. 
There he was accorded a welcome 
such as the high office he then filled 
demanded. 



26 



BECOMES A PARK 



In 1830, after considerable opposi- 
tion, the Common was fenced in and 
laid out as a public park, with walks 
and shade trees. By the widening of 
Garden Street many years ago the 
"Washington Elm" and the "White- 
field tree," once included in the Com- 
mon, were separated from it. The 
former now stands in a little en- 
closure in the middle of Garden 
Street, while the "Whitefield tree," 
which was considered an obstruction 
to travel, has been removed. 

The soldiers' monument which 
stands on the Common was erected 
by the City of Cambridge and dedi- 
cated in the summer of 1870. It was 
designed by the famous Cobb 
brothers, Cyrus and Darius, then both 
residents of Cambridge and veterans 
of the Civil War, and is considered 

27 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

one of the finest structures of its 
kind in the country. The three can-i 
non which flank the base of the monu- 
ment are relics of the Revolution, 
having- been captured by Ethan Allen 
at Crown Point, in 1775, and brought 
to Cambridg-e with other spoils, on 
ox sleds, by General Knox. They 
were used during- the siege of Bos- 
ton. 

At the lower end of the Common is 
a beautiful memorial gateway, of pink 
granite, erected by the General So- 
ciety of the Daughters of the Revo- 
lution. Bronze tablets on either side 
of the entrance are inscribed as fol- 
lows : On the left, "Near this spot on 
July 3, 1775, George Washington took 
command of the American Army"; 
on the right, "In memory of this 
event, this gateway was erected A. 
D. October, 1906." 

The statue of John Bridge, which 
stands at the northern end of the 

28 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

Common, portrays one of the early 
settlers of the town who held many 
positions of honor and trust. 

Surrounding the Common there 
remain, beside several of the buildings 
of Harvard, but few reminders of the 
Revolution. Christ Church on Garden 
Street, the Waterhouse house on 
Waterhouse Street, and the "Wash- 
ington Elm, are now the only other 
nearby objects that witnessed the 
scenes on the Common when Wash- 
ington's army was encamped there, 
nearly a century and a half ago. 

"Training days" in Cambridge are 
a thing of the past. Commencement, 
is, of course, observed each year at 
Harvard with the customary literary 
exercises, the celebration of the day 
otherwise, however, is no longer a 
public afifair as in the early years, be- 
ing confined altogether to graduates 
and those immediately connected 
with the University. 

29 



AS IT IS TODAY 



Today, the Common, once more a 
war camp, presents a busy scene. Its 
surface is largely covered with the 
building's of the Radio School, and the 
whole park is enclosed by high board 
fence. The buildings include bar- 
racks, which are constructed around 
the sides of the Common, a recitation 
hall, administration building and 
power plant. The main entrance to 
the enclosure is on Massachusetts 
Avenue opposite Holmes Place. The 
buildings are all of the same style of 
construction, neat and attractive in 
appearance, and are equipped in every 
particular for the welfare of the 
students. 

The camp has been so planned that 
no harm will come to the beautiful 
shade trees or any of the structural 
features which adorn the Common. 

30 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

Of the 5,000 men who are at this 
Radio School the camp on the Com- 
mon will accommodate in its barracks 
only 1,800. The larger portion are 
still occupying- for barracks and in- 
struction purposes several of the 
Harvard University buildings as they 
have done for nearly a year. In all 
departments the regulations of the 
Navy are strictly observed. 

While the Common long ago ceased 
to be used as a training field, the sol- 
diers' monument and the grim old 
cannon give to the place a permanent 
touch of the military atmosphere 
which belongs to it, and, forming as 
they do, in the centre of the camp, a 
group of silent reminders .of two 
former wars, they will serve the pur- 
pose of an impressive object lesson 
in patriotism to the hundreds of 
young men who are now training 
there for service in still another — the 
greatest of all wars in history. 

31 



HISTORIC CAMBRIDGE COMMON 

But the Common, notwithstanding 
the fact that the requirements for 
which it was orig-inally designed long 
ago ceased to exist, still belongs to 
the people of Cambridge, and always 
will . 

When the war is over and the site 
no longer needed by the Govern- 
ment, the buildings removed, and the 
grounds restored to their former 
beauty, the Common will be all the 
more appreciated by the people of 
Cambridge for its having been used 
in such a glorious cause ; and for the 
sacrifice they have made in relin- 
quishing it they will have been well 
repaid. 



32 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 013 419 3 



